Cycling guidelines

Training distance for cycling

Let us give you some tips to find the training distance for cycling. The training distance for cycling needs to be set according to your fitness level and be adapted to your season plan and goals

It is important that you train 4-5 days a week, if you are serious about improving your cycling performance. Before something happens you should as a minimum have at least 1 day off a week, and even 2 days off per week is a good starting point. It is the combination of structured training and resting periods that increases your physical performance.

The training distance for a week of cycling should contain the following elements:

A long day of training distance

A short day of training distance

3 or 4 medium long training distance days

1 or 2 rest days away from any kind of sport

Plan your short training day or off day immediately after the long training day

The short bike ride should not be any longer than about 25% of your long training day.

The short training distance should be ridden in light tempo and is to help your muscles loosen up e.g. after a long day of training distance at the weekend.

The medium long day of training ought to be between the short and the next long day of training. If you are a competitive bike rider, one or two of these training days during the summer period should be with built-in interval training.

The long training day should be at a length of 125 % of your target. However, you ought not to follow this model if your target is more than 200 km. Then you ought to train a little differently, as it is not physically possible to train distances of this length for several weeks/months at a time.

In the week before your target, the longest day of training distance ought not to be more than 75 % of the length of the race that is your goal. This rule in particularly is a little dependent on your fitness level. For those with a really high level of training, a ride with a length of 125% of the goal, 4 days before your target can be a very good thing. Still you alwasy have to take into account all factors involved, such as your fitness level, target goal and where you are in your overall phase of development.

Be flexible with your training program and adapt the program to your life style. A training program that is too rigid, is destined to fail

How much energy should you put into the individual days of training:

Your long training distance day should match your own estimate of medium hard

Your short training distance day ought to be pure restoration training.No tougher than 50%-60% of your max pulse

Two of the medium long training days should be trained as medium hard

One of the medium long training days should be before a day off and ought to be trained at a speed of about 4-5 km/h quicker in average than the medium hard training day